Vegeta the Immortal
by Dardarr
Summary: Eternal Dragons have long memories; it takes more than death to make one forget a wish. On planet Namek, Vegeta gets what he wants. Canon pairings, VB, probably AU. Vegeta-centric.
1. Chapter 1

Eternal Dragons have long memories; it takes more than death to make one forget a wish. Vegeta gets what he wants.

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It was unbelievable. He was alive again! It seemed like an eternity since his impassioned plea to Kakarrot, begging him to kill Frieza and avenge their entire race, and then his death at the tyrant's hand. All he remembered after that was the endless darkness and burning fires that lapped through every inch of his flesh, and that one moment of urging the last Saiyan alive on to victory. Or at least a better death.

But none of it mattered, he, Vegeta, Prince of Saiyans, was alive once more!

"Yes it's true, it's true I'm really alive!"

He finished laughing and pulled himself off the ground.

"Wait, that means... Yes!"

Energy was flashing around in the distance, Kakarrot was still fighting the pale monster! And winning, too!

"There they are, great! Just look at them go... Astounding!"

It was incredible! He laughed again. It didn't even anger him that it was another instead of him, it didn't matter. A Saiyan was beating Frieza. And even better, he was there to witness it. Life was _sweet_.

Suddenly the sky darkened, and an enormous green creature burst into being. The Eternal Dragon! His wish!

Just as he was about to fly towards it faster than he'd ever flown before, it turned and even so far away, its red eyes pierced him and held him down. Everything froze as that deep, booming voice sounded from everywhere and nowhere at once.

"The last wish was made to grant you immortality. Do you accept this wish?"

Did he accept immortality, it asked? A more redundant question didn't exist! Still unable to physically move as the psychic conversation went on, he shouted back in his mind.

"Of course I accept it, you over-grown lizard! Make me immortal!"

An ominous growl echoed through his head.

"Very well, it will be done as you wish. How shall I grant you this?"

Visions flashed through the Prince's mind of all the various beings with near immortality he had ever encountered or heard of. Instant healing, indestructibility, regeneration from the tiniest scrap left, intangibility, the list went on and on with different variations each with their pros and cons. This dragon was even more convenient than he'd imagined, it was giving him a choice!

He had to admit that absolute invincibility had the most appeal, but it wouldn't allow him to grow in strength from each wound as it would simply prevent him from feeling anything. Or would it?

"Dragon! If I wish to be indestructible, impervious to any negative effect, would I still be able to feel? To grow stronger from each battle and every wound? Or would I remain only as strong as I am now, forever?"

The red eyes glowed brighter and shrunk in a frown, obviously considering. The gigantic head finally nodded in his mind.

"What you desire is possible. You would still feel pain and grow from every attack, yet remain undamaged and immortal. Or be immune to pain but not grow from it. It is your choice."

In the non-corporeal psychic conversation, Vegeta nodded and considered. Obviously, the choice was to feel pain and grow stronger. He was Vegeta, Prince of Saiyans. Pain was a cheap price to pay. What else might he draw from this wish? It was incredibly unlikely he would ever have a chance as great as this, and the Dragon seemed to be in a generous mood.

He considered the possible outcomes. He would live forever. Their race was hardy and longer lived than many, but eventually Kakarrot and his spawn would die somehow and leave him the last Saiyan. He himself could take a mate from another species and reproduce, but he would outlive them all.

"Dragon, would it also be possible for this immortality to be tied to my bloodline, given to my seed as well?"

The green being concentrated once more. Never had a wish like this been made.

"I'm... not sure. It would surely grow weaker as your blood grew thinner, though to what extent I know not. Is this your wish? Time grows short."

Vegeta frowned, then shrugged slightly. It was more than he had hoped for! With this, he would be invincible. With this, he could one day rebuild the Saiyan empire!

"That is my wish! Grant it, dragon! And you will be remembered through all my line, for all eternity!"

Red eyes burned crimson and the world came to life once more. Like thunder, the voice boomed out once more.

"Your wish is granted. My work is done."

Yellow lightning flashed as the Eternal Dragon vanished and the Dragon Balls flew up and shot across the world in different directions. The sky lightened and grew green once more. All fighting stopped as everyone turned to stare, awareness shocking them into absolute stillness. The last wish had been made somehow and the dragon was gone.

Across the galaxy and in another dimension, King Kai fell to the floor in dead faint. Those around him stared in dumb horror, unaware of what had happened.

Goku gasped as his plan fell apart. How were they going to get everyone off Namek without the last wish? Frieza recovered and attacked the Super Saiyan in a rage, catching him off guard. Goku flew back before recovering and fighting back, trading blows and blasts too fast for lesser eyes to see.

Dende collapsed and cried out, hands clenched and crushed into the dirt. How was it possible? No one had reached the Dragon Balls, and certainly none with the password! Everything was ruined!

Vegeta felt it the instant the words were spoken. An alien power the like of which he had never felt rushed over him, penetrating every atom of his being. It was not unlike the piercing fires of what must have been hell, only indescribable instead of causing endless pain. His breath caught and then rushed out as power left as quickly as it came, vanishing into nothing and leaving him permanently altered yet exactly the same, with the addition of re-growing his tail.

If he had laughed upon his revival, it was nothing to this. He roared out his joy and pride and power and sheer glee. He was invincible!

He must remember to thank that over-grown lizard if they ever met again for restoring his tail, he had forgotten to mention it. The comfortable warmth it brought when wrapped around his waist was better than he remembered. Perhaps it might be best to keep it concealed there for now, no point in revealing his trump card.

The renewed battle caught his attention and snapped him out of his insanity. _Frieza_.

Royal blue enveloped him as he shouted out and called forth his power before launching himself towards his greatest enemy. Kakarrot may have found the power of their legend, Frieza may be stronger than him personally, but he was immortal! What better test of his new indestructible body?

He called even more power out and flew even faster, exalting in the realisation that he was now tireless, that his power would never drop no matter how much he used.

"Frieza! Prepare to meet your doom! I'm coming for you, Frieza!"

His voice echoed over the entire planet, once again stopping all movement. Goku stopped mid-punch and drifted subconsciously away. Frieza mimicked him without realising it as they both turned to face the newcomer as he arrived with a shout.

"Frieza!"

Goku turned and smiled. "Hey, yeah! Welcome back, Vegeta! I guess it's a good thing I didn't bury you that deep after all."

Vegeta laughed and turned to the golden warrior. "Well, well, well, well. Kakarrot you dog. You did it, you actually did. You're Super Saiyan, I can see it."

Frieza gasps in disbelief. "Nnow what, I k-killed you! You must be a ghost!"

"Can a ghost do this, Frieza? Lll-ahh!"

Golden energy charged in his hand and he threw it with a shout. The blast was smaller compared to those dealt by Goku in his Super Saiyan form, but just barely and it's very existence caught Frieza off guard and blew him back. The pale purple alien tumbled backwards head over tail to eventually crash down deep into rocky ground, dazed and terrified. Vegeta seemed to be some terrible, avenging apparition come back from hell itself to drag him along with it.

Goku was impressed despite himself.

"Wow, Vegeta! Coming back from the dead really helped boost your power, huh? But you've got to get out of here, Frieza destabilised the planet's core and its going to blow up any minute!" He frowned at his own words. "Though I don't know how we're going to get everyone off in time without that last wish."

Vegeta smirked. Who cared about such trivial things like that? Surviving a planets destruction would be nothing to an immortal! Although... He didn't know how to unlock the transformation to Super Saiyan. He'd felt the power earlier, even thought he'd managed to tap into it, but without success. It might be best to keep Kakarrot alive. Besides, now with his immortality their rivalry was irrelevant. And another pure Saiyan bloodline for his progeny to mate into would help keep the blood from thinning. No matter his heritage, Kakarrot had clearly surpassed his ancestry and achieved the Legendary. Besides, he was a pure blood, the only other in the universe.

That settled it.

"Kakarrot, you leave. I'll deal with Frieza. Take his ship and get off the planet. I can handle Frieza."

Goku shook his head. "Vegeta, I know you have the right to fight him but you just aren't strong enough. Besides, I wouldn't know how to fly his ship anyway."

Vegeta growled. "Well how in the blazes did you get here anyway? Just go back the same way!"

The stubborn third-class shook his head again. "There isn't enough room on my ship for everyone, and I won't leave without them!"

"Fine!" The prince roared. "Follow me, you fool."

Together they shot across the sky to Frieza's ship, taking advantage of the Ice-jin's shocked state.

Once inside the control room, Vegeta's fingers flew over various buttons as he programmed an self-guided course to earth. "Grab everyone you want and then hit this button here to launch, understand? Leave Frieza to me!"

Such was the command and rage in his voice that Goku actually stammered out an agreement. Besides, there wasn't any other way to save everyone on the planet. Only he was fast enough to carry everyone there.

"Ok, Vegeta. I'll leave him to you for now. You better not die again, ok?"

"Just get on with it, you fool!" Was the only reply before Vegeta blasted off towards Frieza. Goku nodded to himself and reached out for energy signatures and took off to collect everyone.

Frieza finally shook himself together and levitated up. The wish must have brought Vegeta back to life, there was no other explanation. The fools! Wasting such a precious thing on bringing back such a miserable monkey! He would just have to kill the traitor and find some cowering Namek to make another set of Dragon Balls. First things first though, time to finish off that sickening golden Saiyan like the scum he is!

The white and purple monstrosity flew back to where it last saw the golden fool, only to be intercepted by the Saiyan Prince. Frieza laughed and hid his annoyance when the cruel sound failed to have its usual impact.

"Vegeta! What an opportunity. It's not everyday I get to squish the same monkey twice."

Wrapping himself in blue energy, Vegeta smirked. "Laugh all you like, Frieza. Today you die at the hands of a Saiyan. I'm going to show you the power of a true Saiyan, and its the last thing you'll ever see."

Frieza would have rather gnaw off his own tail than say he was anxious confronting someone he knew he had killed, and it was written all over his face.

Vegeta laughed.


	2. Chapter 2

_Why. Wouldn't. He. Just. Die!_

Frieza screamed in rage with every attack he sent hurtling towards Vegeta, all but frothing at the mouth.

The _blasted _impossible_ insane _monstrous_ freak_ just laughed off attacks that would have destroyed _stars! _Sure, the monkey had yelled in agonising pain at first, which normally would be sweet music to his ears, except for the fact that yelling meant he was _still_ _alive._

And he couldn't possibly be alive. Nothing could survive the assault he had bombarded the miserable creature with. Blast after blast of incredibly powerful attacks, piercing beams that could spear through black holes, energy discs that could bisect entire worlds and keep going, and every single form of energy he could think of. All for _nothing_. Not even a _scratch!_

That damned Vegeta had wrapped himself in even more of his _absolutely_ _offensive_ blue power and it seemed to grow every second. If he didn't feel every single measure of his power hit and fade or divert, he would have thought the proud Saiyan Prince had resorted to some sort of cowardly sorcery to steal it from his attacks.

But the Saiyans knew no such trickery, and nothing could work on power of this magnitude. Somehow the stupid monkey had learned to use his power as an armour the likes of which the universe had never seen. If even he, the almighty Frieza, couldn't penetrate the shell with pure power, then no amount of brute force could. The brat wouldn't even move anymore!

Frieza's white hot rage cooled into an icy logic as he finally realised how draining his assault had been. He took his time, twisting power into new forms, different frequencies, shapes, velocities, intensities. Something would eventually work, and when it did he would learn the secret of this new defence. Then he could use it to establish himself as the new head of the Cold family. His father would never see it coming.

Cackling madly in his daydreams, he didn't notice the blue spheres gathering at Vegeta's fists. It was easy to miss amongst the colossal energy blasts he was launching at him at dizzying speeds. He couldn't even make out the small form anymore; he just kept blasting away in that general direction; diverse attacks eventually abandoned for brute force once more.

With one last gigantic attack forming at his fingertip, Frieza kept laughing and threw the red orb, unaware of the high-pitched maniacal note creeping in as he gasped for breath in between bouts of unnatural mirth.

The laughter died a quick death when the light faded and Vegeta was still hovering there, perfectly untouched and now smirking. Frieza recoiled, stammering half-formed denials and gibberish.

"Is that all you've got, _Frieza?_ I almost felt that last one. Too bad, looks like you're all used up. It's my turn now. Don't look so scared, Frieza. You're immortal in hell. I'm sure they'll have your spot picked out for you, all ready and waiting, filled with undead wraiths of all the lives you've taken just ready to rip you to shreds for eternity. Wouldn't want to keep them waiting!"

Vegeta phased out of sight only to appear right in front of the cowering Ice-jin with his right palm raised. Before Frieza could so much as whimper, the gathered blue energy flew out and blew a hole right through his middle. Purple blood sprayed out behind him with a satisfying squish in a pretty display, but Vegeta kept his eyes locked with Frieza's, drinking in every flicker of fear, uncertainty and pain.

Vegeta's left hand landed on his shoulder in some twisted parody of comfort, and promptly blew off his arm with another blue ball of condensed ki. It fell in silence as the sheer impossibility of the situation kept Frieza from reacting. He watched his limb fall and hit rock with a sickening thud, and the sound snapped him out of his daze.

Screaming in horror, he clasped at his shoulder and launched himself away from the demon before him. _His_ _arm! _His beautiful, power arm! Frieza went to scream again but it choked off as he coughed up blood and spat it away. Pulling his arm back, he looked down and felt the edge of the palm-sized hole punched clean through his chest. His hand was shaking and for the first time it wasn't from rage.

Vegeta's laughter grabbed his attention.

"Ha! The lizard misses his filthy flesh. Don't worry, there won't be any to miss soon. I'm going to blow your limbs off, one by one. I think I'll start with your other arm, then your legs and tail. Maybe in pieces, hmm? Which would you prefer, cut at the joints or simply by length? Don't worry, either way I'll save that ugly head of your for last."

Something snapped at that, and Frieza shouted denials and curses as he launched wave after wave of energy hurtling towards the laughing prince. He was _Frieza_, he was _eternal_, he was a _god! _But try as he might, his attacks faltered. His right arm had always been his strongest, and without the balance it provided he simply couldn't keep his usual pace. The hole through his gut didn't help either, and he kept faltering as more purple blood had to be coughed out.

Then as he coughed mid-attack, it happened. One blast backfired as his control slipped and the resulting explosion blew off half his finger. His attacks stopped as he stared at it in horror. How had he never noticed how fragile his body was? It seemed just _wrong_ that he be made of flesh and blood when clearly he was above such things. And yet it stared back at him, seeping purple life down his arm.

"Now, now, Frieza. That's my job."

Vegeta's voice came from behind him, and as he turned a dreaded hand touched his elbow. "No-" But it was too late. Blue light flashed across a twisted smile and Frieza's remaining arm lost half its length, cut off at the elbow leaving him just one mutilated stump.

Furious and fearful beyond imagination, Frieza spun and lashed out with his powerful tail. It hurtled through the air faster than any sight and crashed against the back of Vegeta's neck. A deadly blow if ever there was one. Any joyous expression fell into shock as the impact ripped his tail in half, as if his tail was wood and Vegeta's neck impossibly, unnaturally strong.

Agony rippled up the remains of his once proud tail and he screamed in pain. Nothing had ever hurts this much. Nothing could ever hurt this much!

Vegeta growled low at the last attempt to kill him, his chest was now covered in blood and damn it had hurt! But he was Vegeta, and pain was his only friend. Hiding its presence was beyond habit and he would never let this miserable bastard see him react, not anymore. He charged another attack and sent a small purple disc flying low where it slashed through flesh and severed Frieza's legs at the knees, swinging up to slice off another portion of tail.

"Vegeta!"

Frieza ignored the shout, too focused on the depths of his anguish, but Vegeta turned instantly to find the only other Saiyan closing in. He smiled and laughed.

"Kakarrot! Good! Another Saiyan should witness me putting down this insect. On second thought, why don't you give me a hand? There's not much left of him but you could burn what's left of his tail clean off if you like."

He laughed again and then laughed harder as Frieza flinched. Oh how long he had waited and_ longed_ for this day...

"I won't let you hurt him again, Vegeta! Enough's enough!"

Several seconds passed before the words broke through his joy and reached him.

"Won't let me hurt him. Enough? _Enough?!_ He _slaughtered_ our people and destroyed our planet! After years of working for him, being forced to work for him, he cast us aside and burned our home, burned _every single one of us_ to death! Only four survived and unlike you, we three spent ever waking moment in _torment_. Humiliated and tortured, he _ruined_ us! But I swore I would grow stronger and avenge us. Enough? Nothing could _ever_ be enough! I would keep him alive in ever greater agony forever save that every moment he lives is another _wound on our souls_!"

Goku hesitated at the rage burning with every word, but he couldn't stand by and let this happen.

"I know you want revenge. I know you deserve justice. But torturing him won't bring them back. Killing him doesn't solve anything! Look at him, Vegeta! He can't do anything. Let him go and live in peace, let him regret and repent!"

The blue aura around Vegeta grew darker and more violent with each passing moment. Not only did Kakarrot not want him tortured, he wanted Frieza left alive?!

"You fool! You think he'll do anything but return and slaughter us all? He's murdered trillions! Hundreds of planets destroyed by his hand alone, let alone those he ordered! Repent? He'll rape every ounce of worth from your planet and burn it, and then he'll laugh and do it again! Just for spite! No, Kakarrot, he ends now."

He turned to deliver one last blow but suddenly Frieza was gone. Flashing back into sight, he spat a bolt of red that caught Goku off guard and pierced through the edge of his shoulder as he dodged just in time; it would have gone through his heart. The limbless lizard wasted no time and propelled himself through the air and away.

"Frieza!" Vegeta snarled and launched himself after the escaping vermin. The massive loss of energy from his frenzied attacks, his severe wounds, and his sheer despair had finally caught up to him though, and Frieza lost all speed and fell from the sky.

Vegeta shot above him and gave him help landing with a massive blast from above. He landed in front of the pathetic creature and gloried in the sight. His tormentor, his nemesis, lay broken and beaten before him. He was immortal and powerful, and though he had not managed the transformation yet, Kakarrot was alive and he would get the secret from him. Revenge was _sweet_. He could practically hear the cheering of his people, urging him on to final victory over their murderer.

But then Kakarrot appeared in between him and his prey.

"Stop this, Vegeta! You've won, leave it at this! You don't have to do this!"

"That's where you're wrong, Kakarrot. I-" But Frieza had spat another bolt of red, and this one had not missed. Doubling over, Goku spat blood and clutched his gut. The beam had pierced straight through him and hit Vegeta too, and Goku panicked. If it could hurt him so, what would it do to the not-Super Saiyan Vegeta?

His eyes widened when the only effect the beam had on the prince was to make him angrier. How?

The Unharmed Saiyan flew over the wounded Kakarrot and landed viciously on Frieza's gut.

"Enjoy hell, you disgusting worm. Know you die by a Saiyan's hand, because of your own pathetic weakness and my greater power. You will not be remembered, I'll see to that. Your empire will crumble and mine will destroy it. Let me give you a secret to take with you, though..."

Vegeta leaned in close and wrapped his glowing hand around Frieza's neck, before whispering so none else could hear.

"You have the honour of being the first to die by the hand of Vegeta the Immortal. Yes, that's right. The Dragon granted my wish. I will live forever. Now _die_."

The blast burned through Frieza's neck before he could voice any protest, any plea, and up through his skull, bursting out the top of his head before exploding and incinerating everything above his shoulders.

Vegeta looked down at the lifeless torso before kicking it into one of the growing geysers of lava and watched it burn to nothing. There wasn't much time left before the planet exploded. He turned to look at the still doubled over Saiyan.

"Kakarrot, where's the ship?"

Goku gave a little weak chuckle. "Somewhere up there, I guess."

"You mean it's launched already?! Damn you, Kakarrot. Come with me."

He grabbed the fool and flew off, searching for any way off the doomed rock. There! One of the Ginyu Force pods! He opened it up and threw Goku into it, setting it to rejuvenation mode and closing it behind him before leaping off to search for another ship as it took off. Surely the other pods should be nearby? Why weren't they nearby?

The planet was splitting apart around him, the ground shaking and ripping, lava spewing everywhere. While he had no fear of dying, he didn't want to contemplate spending centuries floating in vacuum trying to find some civilised world!

Then memory hit him and he scowled at himself while pulling out his remote control device, directing his and every other empty pod off the planet and to a safe distance for now. He had a bad feeling it was going to-

Explode!

Pain and heat and _pain_ ripped through him and threw him out into space. The explosion was incredible, the force behind it astounding, but all he could appreciate was the overwhelming pain. Heat that would have incinerated him lapped through his flesh, chunks of rock slammed into him with power enough to have liquified him, shrapnel ricocheted off his unnaturally immune flesh. Then cold and nothingness replaced these impossible pains. Even Frieza's earlier attacks had been less than this, simply energy and pressure gone almost as soon as it started at levels of pain too great to fathom.

But now with his tolerance built up, he could appreciate ever new measure of pain. He almost wished he could die-

Before shaking his head and gritting his teeth. He was Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans and killer of Frieza! This was _nothing!_

Eventually the main blast faded and things grew more still. The vacuum of space tore at him and the cold bite of it leeched his willpower, but he was unharmed, hands clenched protectively around the remote. When he was sure it was safe, he used it to guide his pod to him.

Once in sight, he ordered it open and flew inside as quickly as he dared. The door closed and a rush of air left him giddy in relief. Deep space vacuum was not something he wished to experience again any time soon.

While he entered the coordinates for earth, a twinge of anxiety flickered through him. Surely Kakarrot knew how to pilot a Saiyan pod. The subconscious training from his infancy in his own pod would be be all he needed, and besides, they were designed to be simple to understand. Then again, the fool hadn't even attempted to purge the planet... Shaking off the unpleasant thought, he ordered his pod into stasis mode and allowed it to send him to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Time passed without leaving its mark on them and before long the large spaceship and the minuscule Saiyan pod were beginning to wake their slumbering passengers. Frieza's commandeered ship slowed down for a graceful landing besides the crater left by Vegeta's pod as it crash-landed without regard to the surroundings. Fortunately it was programmed to land away from civilisation on unconquered planets, unless manually guided, to give the passenger breathing space before beginning the inevitable purge.

Aboard Frieza's command ship, everyone was beginning to wake up. Their bodies weren't used to the stasis gas so they were all groggily moving about and slurring their words. Such was their state that they didn't even realise the ship was landing, even with the computerised voice-over announcing the fact, until they had already entered the atmosphere.

Gohan was biting back his fear as he realised Piccolo wasn't waking up. Was something wrong? Had he died? But the green alien's chest rose and fell softly. Memories flooded back through him suddenly and he gave a startled yelp. Namek! Dragon Balls! _Frieza!_

His father!

But there was no time to worry about him just yet. His father always saved the day and came back in the end. Piccolo needed help right away, so he left and began searching for Dende amongst the crowd of Nameks. No easy task.

Bulma meanwhile was busy distracting herself from thoughts of her childhood friend's likely demise by looking around the alien space craft she found herself in. It was certainly more advanced than the Namek ship! One screen even displayed what looked like some kind of shielding to protect the ship even if the hull was breached. Good thing too, because _boy_ was the hull breached! It looked like someone had stood right where she was and used a Kamehameha...

And she was back to wondering about Goku. She hadn't seen this Frieza but he seemed absolutely horrible. Krillin had told her a bit about him, and Gohan had told her a little more while they had waited as Goku ferried more and more Nameks aboard the ship. About Vegeta's somewhat alliance and then his heartbreaking speech that had been so powerful he had even felt it telepathically. About Krillin's death at the hands of that monster.

Goku had stayed back all alone on a planet about to explode.

Well, not all alone. Vegeta had stayed behind too. He was even the one who programmed the ship to get them all safely home; Goku had told her when she demanded to know how he knew that certain button would work. As if she would trust Goku on a matter of technology! But as the ship landed and opened up to reveal earth sweet earth, she blessed Vegeta and prayed for him and Goku to kick Frieza's tail!

She ran down the ramp and jumped face first onto the green grass, laughing. The green aliens followed her hesitantly. Dazed and more than a little confused, the Nameks crowded around their Guru as they took in the strange new planet they found themselves on. The green landscape seemed a little familiar, but a blue sky? With only one sun? How strange. Bulma reassured them that this was perfectly normal and started answering some of their questions about their surrounding area.

Seven thuds cause brief alarm amongst them before they realise it is the seven inert Dragon Balls from Namek that have followed their creator to Earth.

Gohan was busy watching Dende heal his mentor, Piccolo, who still hadn't quite recovered from his beating at Frieza's hands even with the time spent in stasis. Just as Piccolo came back to full strength and thanked Dende, cries of fear broke out from the Nameks. Vegeta had made himself known, climbing out of his pod.

Bulma's smile fell. Goku wasn't with him.

"Relax, fools. I'm not interested in killing any more of you weaklings. Just answer me one thing: where is Kakarrot?"

Gohan and Piccolo shared a glance. Without Goku there with them, there was no way they could stop the arrogant prince from destroying anything he wanted to. They wouldn't even have any wishes for a hundred and thirty days, more than enough time for Vegeta to slaughter them all and be on his way.

Piccolo considered his options after his quickest psychic conversation ever, where Gohan filled in some last details, before replying.

"What do you mean, where is he? He left us on the ship to go fight Frieza, to make sure he couldn't follow us here. You were there too, weren't you? What happened?"

Vegeta ground his teeth together. Blast that Kakarrot! How could he get lost? The pods are so easy to use! He must have been knocked off course or damaged somehow. As fast as the pods are, he could be just about anywhere in the universe by now! Gone, with his Super Saiyan secret with him! He had to calm down, Kakarrot would be back. He had all the time in the universe. He smirked.

"I'll tell you what happened. I, Prince Vegeta, blew off Frieza's limbs one by one. Your precious Kakarrot tried to stop me, tried to let that hideous monster go, but Frieza took advantage of the fool and shot him in the back. I killed Frieza like the coward he was and avenged my people."

His proud smirk fell as he continued.

"I shoved Kakarrot in one of the pods and watched it leave before entering my own as the planet exploded. He should have been here before me. Where could he be?!"

Pride and frustration warred within him. He had finally killed Frieza, he had become immortal! He would be the strongest fighter in all existence! Yet that third-class wretch had unlocked the secret to the legendary Super Saiyan transformation. Something he, Prince Vegeta, hadn't managed after spending his entire life devoted to it! He had to know the secret! Damn him!

Piccolo was shocked. _Vegeta_ had been the one to destroy _Frieza? _How? Even Goku with his amazing golden power, the power of a Super Saiyan, hadn't been that much stronger, how could Vegeta possibly be able to pull it off, let alone without a scratch?

Cries of dismay erupted out of the Nameks upon learning of their planet's fate. Guru calmed them and passed his power and knowledge onto the next oldest Namek, Moori, and linking him to the Dragon Balls before passing away from old age and vanishing into the next dimension.

Vegeta payed them no mind, too busy glorying in his victory and brooding over Kakarrot's absence. Bulma's little superstitious fortune telling technique grab his interest; if the legend of Super Saiyans and Dragon Balls proved true then who knows what might be possible? But a gust of wind blew the leaves away before they burnt, apparently signalling that the traveller won't return, and the bizarre people ignore their own legend in favour of blind optimism. Not that he wasn't as wishful, he just wanted Kakarrot back for a different reason.

He zoned out and ignored the conversation going on around him, trying to plan out his next move. He had a pod and Frieza's own ship, he could leave and search for Kakarrot. But he had little chance of success, whereas if he stayed his target would most likely come to him. Eventually. What should he do in the meantime?

The phrase Dragon Balls caught his attention and he zoned back to his current surroundings. Bulma and the little halfbreed were getting upset, and by the feel of his ki so was the earthling Piccolo. Apparently the Earth Dragon Balls only gave one wish and had different limitations, being able to revive many but never the same person twice, while the Namekians version allowed three smaller scaled wishes and could be used to revive someone repeatedly, but only one per wish. They had different time delays too, another useful thing to know.

Their upset was because people came back to life at the place of their death, and as the planet Namek no longer existed then Krillin and Goku, if he was indeed dead, would simply die in the vacuum of space. Bulma and Gohan were almost in tears at the thought of it, babbling idiotic analogies and suddenly it all just seemed too much.

"Fools! Enough of this ridiculous babble! You want Kakarrot back, so look. The Earth has a check-in station to the Spirit Realm. Wish him there, _then_ wish him back to life. If he's even dead in the first place."

Bulma reacted faster than any other, rapidly processing his idea and even being surprised that Vegeta would tell them how to wish his rival back to life. Her eyes dried up and she laughed happily at Gohan.

"Hey, that might work!" She turned to face Vegeta.

"Man, Vegeta, what a great idea. I'm impressed. This is awesome! We need to gather the Dragon Balls."

Gohan smiled and walked up to the scowling Saiyan. "Uhm, thank you very much." He offered his hand in some sort of gesture, apparently expecting him to hold it or some such. He scoffed.

"Don't get carried away." He slapped the hand aside, a dismissive gesture more than any attempt to cause pain, and muttered to himself. "Bunch of softies." Bulma turned to look at him again, surprised once more. Apparently she thought he was nice now, or something. He stared back at her with cold, angry eyes.

Those fools. He wasn't interested in helping Kakarrot. He just wanted to learn his secret, how he became a Super Saiyan so he could do it too. Bah, idiots, the lot of them.

A polite voice interrupted their stare. Moori, the new leader of the Nameks, spoke up.

"Excuse me miss Bulma, we have a request we'd like to make. We plan to use our Dragon Balls to relocate to another planet, but finding a suitable home is going to take time. Do you know of a place where we can stay temporarily until we can make other arrangements?"

"Gosh." The blue-haired female seemed to think deeply for a moment, before exclaiming happily and loudly. "Hey, I know! Just stay with _me!_"

The Namek seemed taken aback. "No, we mustn't impose."

"Aww, hey, it's really no biggie. It's the least I can do for you all. Besides, you need a major credit card to stay in a hotel."

Moori turned to the others to see if they understood what this meant. Credit he understood but credit card? Obviously the culture of this planet was stranger than he thought.

"Hey, no worries my dad's compound is _huge_. There's enough room for everyone. It's not like you guys have a lot of options, green men from outer space aren't a common sight around here."

Aliens were that uncommon on this planet?

"Oh gosh! I see your point. We accept."

Bulma smiled at her success, and turned to the standoffish prince. "What about you! Hey _homeboy_!"

That snapped him out of his brooding. "What? Homeboy?"

"Hey loosen up! You're going to need a place to crash too. Hey why don't you drop the arrogant tough-guy act and just relax, let it all go, take a _vacation_ for goodness sake! Unwind a little and see what life has to offer you, you're actually kinda cute!" She ended with a giggle.

"What?! Kind of cute? Bonehead!"

She paid no attention to his mutterings or angry scowl, turning back to the Nameks. "Alright then, its all settled. I'm going to go call my dad and have him pick all of us up!"

Good lord her voice carried! It traveled through his ears and reverberated through his skull, not letting him ignore a word she said. Other people spoke and eventually Vegeta managed to get back into his meditative contemplation. He now apparently had a place to stay, a compound of some sort. Perhaps military. Nothing on this puny planet could harm him, but it might be fun to see how many he could fry with one small beam. His record was seventeen; it was hard to get more in a straight line, and bending the beam didn't count. Though any number he scored on this planet wouldn't count either; they hadn't even heard of him. Such a primitive species.

Perhaps it was best not to antagonise anything just yet though. He was probably going to be here for some time waiting for Kakarrot to arrive, so he would find some other way to pass the time. Perhaps they had some decent training equipment or dangerous wildlife he could toy with.

He doubted it, but stranger things had happened.


	4. Chapter 4

Tense minutes ticked by as the group of earthlings and aliens alike waited for Bulma's father to come pick them up and take them to their new temporary home. The Namekian children played happily in the strange flora of Earth, resilient as all younglings can be even in the wake of devastation.

The adults were not so lucky. News had spread quickly that several of their number had not been accounted for. Some blamed Goku, others believed Gohan's declaration that his father wouldn't have missed anyone. Vegeta had chortled to himself as the arguing grew louder, until he couldn't hold it in anymore and he slipped into outright laughter.

They had not been happy to learn that one of their saviours had been the one to kill their friends. Bulma's appraising glances took a horrified turn, much to his amusement. The woman's face was just too funny sometimes, at least when she wasn't calling him cute. And Piccolo's reaction was by far the most enjoyable. The Namek knew, knew with his very blood that Vegeta was far stronger and that there was nothing he could do to prevent any action the Saiyan made. Vegeta smirked. If only the overgrown Namek knew how true it was.

Then everyone seemed to just calm down, and his little game lost all appeal. What was the point if they weren't even going to react? Time passed slowly as the others talked in quieter tones, telling and retelling their tales to the point that it all merged together and lost all consistency.

Finally at the umpteenth mention of Goku's new power, Vegeta had lost his patience.

"Why are we sitting around here? Why not simply fly to this compound of yours?"

Bulma rounded on him in surprise; he hadn't moved an inch or made a sound for at least half an hour. "Well in case you didn't know, some of us here can't fly and besides, the only other times aliens have shown up on this planet it was to try and destroy everything. People aren't exactly used to seeing a hundred odd green men from space flying into town!"

He had to fight the urge to grind his teeth. "Surely your people still have flying machines? Would that really look so out of place?" He gestured at Frieza's ship, and watched in amusement as the blue-haired human tried not to blush. Surrounded by imbeciles, as always.

Everyone was soon aboard the ship except Vegeta, Bulma and Piccolo. Bulma called out to him with less hesitation than he would have thought natural, telling him to hurry up before she figured out the controls and left without him. He scoffed. Not likely. The day some primitive, one-planet species figured out Frieza's ship at a glance would be the day he, well, did something out of character.

He gestured for them to go on before him but neither moved. Bulma was interested in whatever he was up to, and Piccolo refused to leave the Saiyan alone to wreak havoc. Not that he could prevent it. Sighing, Vegeta turned his back so they could not see and pulled out his remote control device, using it to command his pod to hide itself somewhere remote and enter survival mode. He ignored their questioning looks and walked aboard the ship, setting their course in the direction Bulma indicated while otherwise ignoring everything else.

He refused to wind up stranded on this remote planet and so far he had detected nothing that might point towards the human species being capable of civilised space travel. Their presence on Namek was either due to some bizarre magic or, more likely, owed to the Namekians themselves. Obviously the two races had some sort of treaty, if apparently secret from the general population. What else could explain the presence of Piccolo and Dragon Balls on Earth, and Earth sending their best fighter's to Namek's aid?

No, he thought as he began the landing sequence near the giant dome building Bulma had pointed to, things were not as simple as these fools wanted him to believe. He was no mere soldier to be taken in by plots such as these. He was Prince Vegeta. He attended more political meetings before he was handed off to Frieza than most beings heard of in their entire lives! And one did not grow up around Frieza without seeing politics play their part in shaping the universe. A word here, a gesture there, and solar systems rose and fell.

Though judging by Bulma's mother's reaction to him as soon as they arrived, perhaps the Earthlings were just idiots after all. Him, a hero? To them? To the billions of Saiyans murdered in cold blood, perhaps; though hero's were meant to save their people, not simply outlive them.

He surveyed the area. Capsule Corp. certainly had a large area of land and an enormous dome-shaped building, at least compared to the others around it. By palace standards it was somewhat lacking, at least on the outside, though apparently it was merely a private home for the Briefs. A family of three. Home much sway must these silly humans hold over this planet to have such accommodation without being royalty? It was rare for a planet to have any decent technology in large quantities without some kind of ruling class. Earth was most strange.

Abandoning his inspection of the main building, Vegeta looked around the grounds and was surprised to find what had to be a space worthy ship. He approached it and stared at the obviously Saiyan elements. Where had they found a ship to copy? He had destroyed Nappa's and taken his own... Ah yes Raditz had his own, so had Kakarrot all those years ago. It was a wonder they hadn't spread across to the nearby planets by now having had access to the technology for so long. Maybe the Briefs kept it hidden away for themselves? Being the only people with access to space would certainly have advantages.

He ignored the man, Mr or Dr or whatever-it-was Briefs, walking up to stand beside him.

"She's a real beauty. Advanced supertronics, the best self-generating laser-powered reactor and a stereo system that will bring the house down."

"Not bad, I bet Kakarrot used a ship just like this."

"Not at all! With all the months you've spent in space, this is my best model yet! That odd fellow King Kai called and did a bit of explaining when we didn't hear back from Bulma, we were about to head off ourselves! So I went back to the Namekian schematics and what was left of the Saiyan pods and managed to improve them! The reactor has far more power and I tweaked it to be even more efficient than before, the propulsion mechanism has back-ups that double as, err, afterburners, I guess. Such a strange way to move through space... Oh! And the gravity field has been stabilised and strengthened. No more fluctuations, blackouts and excessive power consumption!"

Vegeta continued examining the ships exterior as the man rattled off more and more technical improvements. The gravity field had caught his interest, even more than the rest of it. No doubt Kakarrot had made use of it to train under extreme gravity. Was that the answer? Even if it wasn't, this could be a useful training tool.

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So the months went by. Vegeta and the Nameks took up residence in the various guest rooms of Capsule Corp. The green aliens had a section all to themselves, and had all but claimed the largest greenhouse as well. Vegeta went out of his way to ignore their presence and they did the same, much to everyone's benefit.

The Saiyan prince considered Frieza's ship a trophy of his victory over the ugly lizard and had been most annoyed that the pesky humans touched it without his permission until they came to an agreement. Vegeta would allow them full access to the ship and full reign to disassemble and reverse-engineer all they could, as long as it was returned to its prior state or improved. It became Capsule Corp.'s secret prototype, with their best and most trusted working on it around the clock and making breakthroughs by the hour, at least.

In return Vegeta would have permanent lodging complete with every basic need, access to the Gravity Room which would be upgraded and repaired as needed (with another one to be added to Frieza's ship), ownership of the improved ship once Capsule Corp. was finished with it and a share of the profits from any invention using technology inspired by or acquired from Vegeta, i.e. Frieza's ship.

Both sides thought they got the better end of the deal by far, and walked away smug. Dr Brief had expected Vegeta to demand a greater share of the profits, to the prince though it was a mere afterthought. What use was the currency on this puny rock, and if it did eventually matter, what would stop him from simply taking some? To Vegeta though, the Gravity Room was a priceless training tool not found on any of the planets or systems he had visited. Being given one all for letting them see a lousy ship? Bizarre beyond words. But they were happy with it so why not take advantage?

At first he had set the machine to two hundred times Earth's normal gravity, the highest it would go, and been slammed down against the floor. Hours later, after the crushing force had agonisingly forced his body to grow stronger, he was able to lunge around the room in controlled bursts of strength. Days later he could walk almost normally, so he began training as if outside.

It was beyond torture. He could feel every muscle and tendon straining, feel them try to be crushed and torn, but the immortality forced them to remain whole, screaming in denial against this perverse, unnatural wholeness. Every moment was agony as he pushed his body further than it should go. Slowly but surely, the pain lessened as his body strengthened and his power grew, just in time to the latest upgrade to add more torture.

Now he was up to three hundred and twenty times Earth Gravity, and had added training bots. He was advancing faster than ever before, even as a child or when he first learnt power levels could be raised. Then the gains had been in leaps and bounds because he had new worlds of power to explore and conquer. Now it was because he never tired and didn't have to wait to recover. His power was no longer a pool to be emptied with each action and refilled while at rest. It was now a rushing river, always full and flowing no matter how much was drawn from it.

Vegeta's great demands of upgrading the Gravity Room meant that Dr Briefs had to spend more and more time away from his pet project, Frieza's ship, which was unacceptable to him in the long run. So he hired more staff for other projects and took some of the more trusted employee's that weren't already involved with the spaceship and put them to work on the 'Vegeta Program' as he called it, to their confusion.

A dozen or so men and women now spent their time repairing and upgrading the battered building, all the while trying to comprehend how anything could survive the harsh environment they were maintaining. Let alone trash the thing. What the hell was going on in that thing? Bulma was eventually put in charge of them, much to her initial delight. A large project led and commanded by her! It was the role she was born for!

Then she was horrified to learn what they were actually doing. A longterm goal of a thousand times Earth gravity? Were they trying to kill the guy!? They couldn't possibly expect him to survive...

But then she saw the tapes. To better understand what they were working on, the group had placed some cameras inside the building and recorded what was happening. She of course berated them for invading his privacy, and made them take out all the cameras save those for communication. Still, the tapes were just sitting there...

Hours and hours of footage of him straining and sweating while pushing his body to the limit, and then past it. His determination and drive blew her away, along with the sheer power rolling off his muscles in rivulets of sweat. She quietly made a copy of the tapes and unknowingly joined each and every one of the the female staff of the group.

The men thought it was crazy and complained loudly about it, but they learned to keep their thoughts to themselves after several shrill comebacks and heartfelt sighs that made them even more upset. So what if the guy was so freakishly buffed, he was an alien! It shouldn't count...

So Bulma led the group in brainstorming sessions designed to come up with better training conditions. The amount of raw power required for even just one of Vegeta's standard attacks meant that the training bots could never come close to a credible threat under their own power. So they decided they needed to steal some. Complicated energy leeching systems were installed into each bot, and new programming was given so they would utilise it properly.

Now whenever Vegeta tried to blow a bot up, several others would flock to it and together they would draw in the energy blast, sending any excess beaming between still other bots or distinct ports that soon littered every surface of the room. Then they would counterattack in perfectly co-ordinated manoeuvres that would have annihilated any other being, but left Vegeta smirking and striking back.

Soon most of Capsule Corp. was running off the excess power provided from the Saiyan's daily workout. Previously untested experiments that had been abandoned for lack of power were soon up and running. New batteries, power relays and stronger alloys were invented from necessity, along with incredibly efficient solar panels as an offshoot from the training bots. Dr Briefs was beginning to think catering to his guest's extreme workouts might soon come to rival the spaceship in terms of new breakthroughs.

Bulma took to checking in on him in the afternoon, supposedly to make sure he was handling the latest upgrades ok but actually to catch an eyeful of the incredibly masculine god that was Vegtea. He usually just grunted or gave short, dismissive replies, but sometimes she could spot something that could be improved, thus lengthening the amount of time she could keep the video communication going.

Eventually it happened so often she would actually bring a notepad and brainstorm new improvements and ideas while watching him workout. He had objected at first but soon came to realise the benefits outweighed the distraction. Soon he would answer some of her spoken thoughts, and the two began having the most unlikely conversations. Always though, she had to start off discussing new ideas, or Vegeta wouldn't be talkative. It wasn't like he liked conversation! She had to ease him in each time, before switching to topics not-so-related to training.

By the time he was destroying himself under four hundred Gs, she had learned more about him than any beating alive. Which didn't say anything, considering. She learned scant details of his past, but it was enough to cause her to hate Frieza almost as much as he did. She enjoyed his quick wit and keen mind, and she found it refreshing to talk with someone as clever as she, if completely different. His tales of other worlds would have had her coming back by themselves.

Vegeta on the other hand learned to enjoy the sound of her voice, and discovered he might like company every so often. Saiyans were social creatures, after all. However much they might be independent, they still formed groups and spent time with each other. He also realised she must be one of the most intelligent females on the planet.

They grew to be almost friends, if only during the minutes and hours spent talking while he trained, and the different attitude displayed when they met outside the Gravity Room.

Then the hundred and thirty days ran out and the Namek Dragon Balls became active once more.

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A/N: Sorry, I know its pretty rushed at the end. And pretty horrible. But I'm having quite a bit of difficulty getting the story to the actual start, all of this is kinda filler-y introduction. I will go back over this chapter when I can. Thank you for the review.


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